Re:Bank Run at Silicon Valley Bank
by coliveira on Thursday March 09, 2023 @08:46PM
(#35089446)
The parent commenter is right, and the problem is the mark-to-market rule. This means that the value of the asset must be the current trading value, which goes down as the rates go up. The result is that bank reserves will go down substantially in nominal terms, sometimes faster than they can recoup the value of these investments.
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That’s a regulatory rule which can be suspended not the underlying economic reality. “On April 9, 2009, FASB issued an official update to FAS 157[35] that eases the mark-to-market rules when the market is unsteady or inactive.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark-to-market_accounting
We’re currently in some interesting times: “As announced on March 15, 2020, the Board reduced reserve requirement ratios to zero percent effective March 26, 2020. This action eliminated reserve requirements for all depository institutions.“. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/reservereq.htm